Trouble in Mississippi...

The one day I took my pedal chain off, a cop pulled me over at night. He pretty much explained, in a not so nice way, that Mississippi's laws are pretty vague. So, I guess technically I'm riding on a motorcycle.

Luckily, he only gave me 'no helmet' & 'no headlight' tickets. And the headlight one will be removed once I show them the one I just bought online.

I guess now I'm gonna have to cool it until I really get it registered.

I'm sorry to hear it. I'm getting the impression that, though these are regarded as bicycles by most states, individual law-enforcement opinion can make a big difference in the headaches involved.

Seems like we'll need to start lobbying for clear laws that define us as being legal. But maybe we should hold on just a bit to let fuel prices get even higher?
That would give us more bargaining power.

Honestly... the cop prolly woulda let me go if I wouldn't have tried to start a conversation with the guy. Cops in this town have power trips every 20 to 30 minutes.

He asked me what I was doing, I answered... where I was going, I answered... then he proceeded to tell me that I was riding a motorized vehicle, I responded that I've tried calling numerous people at the DMV & they were unsure, I've looked at the MS Code, etc... at that point his face turned red & he just snapped, "Do you wanna try me?" I said no, but I shouldn't have said anything at all. He prolly woulda let me walk away since my pedal chain was off.

My only tips for those states that don't EXPLICITLY lay out a difference between a motorized bicycle & other modes of transportation:

1) Don't ride without the pedal chain on. This is prolly why the first 30 cops passed me without notice.

2) Wear a helmet & at a minimum, have headlights on at night. (I knew I was wrong for this, so I deserved the tickets I was written & have learned my lesson)

3) Act like you know NOTHING of the laws unless you really do, and just sit there and listen to what the jerk has to say before you try to have a conversation about what you THOUGHT was okay.